Venetian blind



June 23, 1959 A. E. LATHAM 2,891,613

VENETIAN BLIND Filed March 7, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. AU/en E. 1427/0/77 EOW/OFI-f 506A, 6.

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United States Patent VENETIAN BLIND Allen E. Latham, Walnut Creek, Calif.

Application March 7, 1955, Serial No. 492,471

1 Claim. (Cl. 160-176) This invention relates to a vertical slat Venetian blind.

Vertical slat Venetian blinds have been known for some time, but have not been fully satisfactory due to the fact [that the control mechanism for such blinds has been complicated and has not been positive in operation.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a vertical slat Venetian blind which is simple in construction and which is easy and positive in operation.

Another object of this invention is to provide a vertical slat Venetian blind having a positive locking structure at the center thereof and which is adapted to be opened from the center, or from an end. I

Still another object of this invention is to provide a vertical slat Venetian blind wherein the slats extend to the extreme ends of the housings so that the blinds can be easily installed in recessed windows.

Other objects and featuers of advantage will be ap parent from the balance of the specification.

In the drawings forming part of this application:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary front elevation of a Venetian blind embodying the present invention, said drawing being partially in section.

Figure 2 is a plan view on the line 2--2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a section view on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a section view similar to Figure 3, showing the slats in another position.

Figure 5 is a plan view generally on the line 5--5 of Figure 1, but showing an entire blind.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the slider mechanism used to regulate the opening of the blinds.

Figure 7 is an elevational view, similar to a portion of Figure 1, showing an alternate structure for suspending the individual blind slats.

Referring now to the drawings by reference characters, the blind of the present invention has a plurality of slats 9 which are suspended from a header or housing which has been generally designated 11. The housing has sidewalls 13 and a top 15 forming a box-like structure. Positioned within the housing are a pair of horizontal rails 17 forming a track which extends from one end of the structure to the other. Suspended between the rails 17 in sliding relationship are a series of blocks 19. Each of the blocks 19 has a shaft 21 passing therethrough at an acute angle to the rails 17, shaft 21 having an upper portion 23, which is set at an obtuse angle to that portion of the shaft 21 which passes through the block 19. In the drawing, the shaft 21 is shown at an angle of 45 to the track and 21 and 23 are at an angle of 135 to each other, but considerable departures from these angles may be utilized. It is desired that the bottom of the shaft 21 turn through an angle of substantially 180 and that this be achieved with the minimum requirement of angular displacement of the upper portion 23, consistent with smooth operation. The upper portion of the shaft 23 terminates in an enlarged, ball-like portion 25. The shaft 21 has at the lower end thereof, in the embodiments illustrated in Figures 1, 3 and 4, an enlarged fiat portion 27, which is connected by means of a rivet or similar device "ice 29 to the member 31 so that flat portion 27 and member 31 can turn freely relative to each other. The member 31 has inturned lips 33 thereon, which have holes therein adapted to receive the prongs 35 of the strap 37. The strap 37 terminates in a hook-like portion 39, to which the slats 9 are hooked. It will be noted that the member 29 turns freely with respect to the member 31 and that the strap member 37 turns freely on the prongs 35. Thus, the two flexible joints constitute a universal joint and, as the shaft 21 turns, slats 9 will "also be turned. A simpler embodiment of the turning device is shown in Figure 7. In accordance with this embodiment, the shaft 27 has a ring 41 at the end thereof, which is fastened rigidly to the shaft. A second loose fitting ring 43 fits into the ring 41 which, in turn, is connected to the slat 9. This structure has the advantage of simplicity over that heretofore described, but is ordinarily a less preferred embodiment since it is not quite as positive in its action.

Disposed within the housing 11 are a plurality of plates 45. The plates 45 have an arcuate slot 47 therein, which terminates at points 49. Lying over each of the plates 45 and slidable in contact therewith are two smaller plates 51, each of which also has an arcuate slot 53 therein. A

pair of pins 55 connected by a spacer element 57 connect.

the slots 53 of plates 51 with the slot 47.. In other words, one of plates 51 lies on each side of plate 45 and the pins 53 and spacers 57 maintain this relationship. The plate members 51 support a crimped member 59, which extends the length of the housing 11 and which has a central U-shaped slot 61 at the center thereof. Member 57 also has a curved surface 63 at the back. Thus, by providing plates 45 at or near opposite ends of the housing, and at positions therealong, if desired, the plates 51 are supported in such a manner that the plates 51 and, in turn, the central member 59, can be rotated through an angle of about 100. At the same time, a completely unobstructed path 61 is left on the interior surface of the member 59 so that sliders can traverse the entire length of the structure.

The method of rotating the member 59 is shown in detail in Figure 6. This consists of a slider 65 which is adapted to slide on the outside surface 63 of the member 59, and which has pivoted at the top thereof a U-shaped member 67 for making sliding contact with rod 69. As can be seen from the drawings, the rod 69 is a section of a helix and therefore extends at an angle relative to member 59 between two of the members 45 so that if the slider 65 is in the center of the structure, the member 59 will be held upright, i.e., with the slot 61 facing straight down, while if the slider 65 is drawn to one end or the other of the structure, member 59 will be tilted in one direction or the other by the action of the member 69. A cord 71 is provided which is attached to the slider 65 by means of the clamp 73. The cord 71 passes over pulleys 75 so that the slider 65 can be drawn from one end of the structure to the other, causing the slats of the blind to rotate on their individual axes.

The method of traversing the blinds will now be described. Each of the blocks 19 is connected to its neighbors by means of a flexible fastener, such as a ball chain 77. Preferably, fasteners run along both sides of the blocks 19 in order to prevent binding. Two master blocks, designated 79 and 81, are located at the center of the structure. These blocks can be of the same structure as the other blocks 19, but are preferably longer, having elongated ends 80 and 82 extending toward each other, said elongated ends serving to space the two master blocks from each other. The master blocks each have an L-shaped structure pivoted thereon, designated 87 and 89, which terminate at interior ends in hooks 87A and 89A. Member 87 is connected to the cord 92 at point 83, while member 89 is connected to the cord 92 at point 85' When the blinds are fully closed, the hooks snap together, as is shown in Figure holding the blinds firmly in alignment. If the cord 92 is pulled at 91, the members 87 and 89 first pivot on their individual blocks, disengaging the hooks 87A and 89A, and as more pressure is' put on cord 91, the two master blocks move away fromeach other and when each'reaches the next adjacent block, that block in turn is pushed and so on, so that eventually all of the blocks and thus the slats are pushed to'opposite sides of the structure. If the cord is pulled at 93, the master blocks move outwardly from the ends, which takes up the slack in the ball chain 77 between the master blocks and the next adjacent blocks and as these blocks are pulled outwardly, each in turn draws out its neighbor in spaced relationship until members 80 and 82 abut and the hooks 87 and 89 fasten together at the center, as is shown in Figure 5.

The structures thus far described have assumed it is desired to have a blind'which opens from the center. If it is desired that the blind open from one side, only a single master block need be used. For instance, in Figure 5, if block 95 were connected to the traversing cord, the blind would open from the right-hand side and the slats in an open position would be bunched at the lefthand side of the structure.

I claim:

A vertical slat Venetian blind having a support member, a shaft having a central portion held by said support member at an acute angle to the horizontal, said shaft extending beneath and above said support, that portion of said shaft extending above said support having an obtuse angular'hendthe'rein, meansfor hanging a slat from the bottom of said shaft, an inverted U-shaped trough extending above said support member, the said upper portion of the said shaft extending within the arms of the U, and means for moving said trough through an arc with the support member as the center of rotation thereof, said means comprising a rod forming a segment of a helix overlying said trough and a slider for traversing said rod, said slider having sliding engaging means for engaging a convex side of said trough, and means for moving said slider.

References Cited in the file'of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,005,584 Trotter Oct. 10, 1911 1,845,574 Agree Feb. 16, 1932 2,135,647 Streby NOV. 8, 1938 2,576,086 Werner et al Nov. 20, 1951 2,605,824 Armstrong Aug; 5, 1952 2,680,480 Harju et a1. June 8', 1954 2,707,993 Null May 10; 1955 2,748,853 Beck June 5, 1956 2,755,854 McIntire July 24, 1956" 2,768,679 Kiefer Oct. 30, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 186,128 Germany July 2, 1907' 591,472 Great Britain Aug. 19, 1947 

